Filler track



J. H. BREWER Jan. 2, 1951 FILLER TRACK 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March l0,1947 -J. H. BREWER FILLER TRACK Jan. 2, 1951 Filed March lO, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 2 F/G. J.

WWIUIIIII nd-bm Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES; PATENT OFFICEFILLER TRACK John H. Brewer, Towson, Md., assigner to Hynson, Westcott &Dunnng, incarcerated, a corporation of Maryland Application March 10,1947, SerialN'o. 733,700

The present invention relates to a device byy means of which sterilecontainers such as ampoules, bottles, vials, etc. can be handled duringthe filling operation without contamination by clust from theatmosphere. More particularly, the invention concerns a. manuallyoperated device capable of receiving a lidded tray carrying a pluralityof sterile containers, removing the lid from said tray, successivelypresenting single rows of containers to a filling station, and replacingthe tray lid after completion of the lling operation.

There are in existence a number of machines for handling, sterilizing,filling and sealing bottles on a mass production basis whereby theentire series of operations is performed automatically. However, in thepackaging and handling of certain biologicals such as serums, vaccines,bacterial antigens, protein extracts,I etc., it sometimes is necessaryto operate on a small scale basis which does not Warrant theinstallation of automatic machines of the type referred to.

So far as I am aware, very little mechanical equipment has been devisedfor assisting in this work. Generally, the handling of small lotbiologicals is accomplished by a group of workers equipped with facemasks, rubber gloves, and sterile gowns, working in a room supplied withfiltered air and purified by ultra violet light but the handling of theampoules in the course of sterilizing, filling and sealing -them islargely manual.

In the container-filling phase of this work, it is often the case thatempty bottles or ampoules are delivered to the filling room in box ortray lots, each tray being covered with a lid and containing a number ofsterilized unstoppered bottles arranged in rows, neck up, and accessiblefor iilling, In order to ll the bottles, the attendant must remove thetray lid and introduce the biological into one bottle at a time by meansof a pipette, or into one row at a time by means of a measuring llingdevice, but in either event, the open bottles are. exposed to the dangerof contamination from the surrounding air until such time as the traylid is replaced and the tray is dispatched to the bottle sealingstation. v 4 have developed a device to be presently described, by meansof which the open bottles can be. protected from the surroundingatmosphere during the process of filling. This device enables theattendant to present one row of bottles at a time to the lling stationwhile keeping the remaining bottles under cover. lvforeover2 it does notrequire that the attendant open and close s. claims. 01-aze--iasil thetray under exposed conditions, but is adapted to receive a lidded tray,remove the lid from the tray, present the bottles in successive rows tothe filling station, and replace the tray lid, allof these operationsbeing accomplished within the protective cover of the device whereby theopen necks of the bottles are. protected against access of the foreignmatter generally carried in the air. f

The invention is illustrated in the accompany. ing drawings in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the complete de-,i vice, hereinafterreferred to as the filler track. with the protective cover in the closedposition,

' Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the filler track with the protectivecover in the open position showing a lidded tray of sterile bottles inposition preparatory to the opening and lling operation,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the tray receiving end ofthe device, taken on the line 3,-,3 of Fig. 1, 2

Fig.' 4 is a longitudinal vertical section of the filler track showingthe details of the lid-lifting end of' the track with the tray lid inthe lifted position, Y Fig- 5 is a transverse vertical section on theline 5..-5 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the cover carrying frame, and

Fig. 'l is a perspective view of the carriage.

Referring to the drawingsit will be seen from Figs. 1 and 2 that thefiller track consists essentially of a base member comprising angle-irontrackways 8 mounted on sills I in Whiclrmay be inserted feet 2 of a softmaterial, a cover carrying frame 3 hinged to a base extension 4,removable covers 5 and B, and a carriage 'l which travels on thelongitudinal trackways 8.

' As shown by- Figs. 2, 5 and 7, the carriage 'I comprises a platform 9adapted to carry a box or tray Ill having a lid II and containingarnpoules, bottles, or vials I2` and fenders I3 covering Wheels I4.Operating handles I5 extend from the fender on the side opposite coverhinge I5 to the exterior of the ller track assembly and function as. themeans whereby the attendant may move the carriage along the track.

` The cover-carrying frame 3 may be raised or movably mounted by meansof fingers I9, on the 3 cover carrier at the lid-lifting and fillingends respectively.

'Ihe cover E for the lid-lifting end 20 of the device carries alid-retaining hook 2I at its outer end. Mounted near the opposite end ofthis cover and extending through the cover is a lid-lifting hook 22. Theconstruction and function of the lid-lifting hook may be understoodfr'om'Figs. 4 and 5 in which 23 represents the shaft of the hook, 24 isthe hook proper mounted on the lower end of the shaft, and 5 is thecover with an aperture 25 through which the shaft passes. Mounted on thecover is a hook support 26 which has an aperture 21 in its base 28centered over the cover aperture 25. The upper end of the lidliftinghook shaft is provided with an operating knob 29 and a catch member30.Whenfthe lidlifting hook is to be latched in the raised position, thecatch memberV is placed over the hook support 26 and is held in positionby a lip 3|' on the end of the catch member.

When ia tray of sterile bottles is to be lled, the device is operated asfollows:

The cover lift handle I8 is raised until it engages with the shoulder 40of latch Il', whereby the cover-carrying frame and cover of the iillertrack are retained in the open position. lIhe lidded'tray I0 with a lidII and containing the sterile empty bottles is then placed on the bed ofthe carriage 1, the carriage having been previously moved to a positionin the lid-lifting end 230i the filler track. Since the lid-retaininghook'2 Ik must be able to clear the end of the tray when the fillertrack cover is closed, it is of course important'that a space, say 1/2to l inch, be left between the end of the tray and the end of the trackwhen the tray is placed on the carriage. The operator now disengages thecover-holding latch by pulling on the knob 32 at the end of the latchI'I, and closes the protective cover by lowering the cover lift handleI8 until the cover carrier 3 is seated by means of the adjustable stop4I. During theabove described operations, the lidlifting'liook 22 is inthe latched or up position s'othat when the protective cover is loweredthe hook will not strike the tray lid.

' yThe cover having been closed, the operator now moves the carriage 'Ito the extreme end of the track, whereby one end of the tray I0 will bebrought to. bear against the lid-retaining hook 2l. This is accomplishedby manual movement in the desiredV direction of one of the operatinghandles I3. 'The tray is now'in `position to have rits lid'liftedfsinceone end is bearing against the lid-retaining hook and theother end iswithin reach Yof the lid-lifting hook and the entire unit is under 'aprotective covering.

Tovraise'the lid I I free of the tray, the operator disengageslid-lifting hook 22 from its support 26 by grasping and raising the knob29. He then lowers the hook by sliding it down through the aperture,engages the end iange 33 of the tray lid, and lifts vthat end of the liduntil the hook is in position to be latched. While one end of the lidhasbeen lifted, the opposite end has been lowered until its ange 35 isin engagement with the lidretaining vhook 2| due to the fulcrum actionof end ange 39 of the tray on the tray lid at the point 36. The lid nowbeing in the position shown in Fig. 4, the tray is free to move out fromunder it. This the operator accomplishes by moving the operating handle,which moves the carriage until the first row of bottles is exposed atthe filling slot 31. The slot being the only position at which thebottles are subject to contamination by for-y 4 eign matter, an ultraviolet light 38 is mounted to radiate on this opening and sterilize anymatter which may be suspended in the air passing in the opening.

When the first row of bottles has been filled, the operator merely movesthe carriage again to expose the second row, and so on until all therows have been presented for filling. The carriage is then returned tothe lid-handling end of the track, whereupon the operator replaces thetray lid in a reversal of the lid-liftingvprocedure'. The track cover isagain lifted to the open position, the lidded-tray of lled bottles isremoved, and the filler track is ready to receive another tray ofsterile bottles.

While for the sake of clarity, I have described a simple vform ofmydevice by means of which sterile bottles in box lots may be iilled withbiologicals without contamination, it is obvious that many modiiicationsof the device may be made without departing from my invention. I may forinstance provide the base with a floor of sheet metal to close the spacebetween the trackways. It is also possible to provide air tight gasketsat all seams and joints, and Irmay cover the filling slot with atransparent plate having built-in filling nozzles. In anothermodiiication, I ymay equip my ller track so that it. may be evacuatedprior to removal of the box lid, or it may be designed with connectionswhereby it can be ushed out with a sterilizing gas before the lid isremoved from the box of bottles.

It is obvious that the component members may be constructed of anysuitable material. I prefer to use a highly polished stainless steelwhich is not prone to cause adherence of foreign mattei' and which maybe sterilized frequently without noticeable deterioration. Also forfacility in sterilizing,` I have provided the covers, carriage, etc., ina design allowing ready removal of the parts for sterilizing whennecessary.

It will be apparent that my invention may be embodied in apparatus ofvery simple form. For instance, I may dispense with the use of a baseand track as disclosed above, merely employing,

with the lid-lifting means and filling slot. Like# wise, it will beapparent that it is not necessary that the lid-retaining hook be carriedby the cover, and it will function properly if mounted,

for instance, on the base member.

I claim: 1. A device comprising a base, a hinged cover for said base,and means mounted on said cover' comprising a stationary retaining hookand an oppositely disposed lifting means adapted for lifting movementrelative to' said cover, said hook and said lifting means being adaptedto engage the lid of a tray positioned beneath said hinged cover when itis closed.

l2. Apparatus for handling open receptacles to 'A minimize entry ofimpurities from the surrounding atmosphere comprising a tray adapted tocarry a plurality of containers, a lid for said tray, a support for saidtray, a cover positioned over said tray, stationary means associatedwith' said cover adapted to engage one end of said tray lid, and movablemeans associated with said cover adapted to engage and lift the oppositeend of said lid, said movable means comprising a shaft movably mountedthrough an opening in said cover, a hook on the lower end of said shaftfor engaging an edge of said lid at said opposite end, and means forsecuring said shaft in an elevated position.

3. A device for handling and filling sterile bottles in box lots understerile conditions comprising an elongated base, a carriage movable backand forth on said base adapted to receive and carry a lidded tray ofsterile bottles, and a cover adapted to cover said base, said carriage,and a tray carried on said carriage and means carried by said cover forlifting the tray lid free of said tray and replacing said tray lid whensubjected to manipulation exterior of said cover when said cover isclosed.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein the means carried by saidcover includes a member extending through the cover for engaging andlifting one end of the lid of the bottle tray and for supporting saidlid free of the bottle tray while the latter is moved lengthwise of thebase during the filling operation.

5. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein the means carried by saidcover includes a member adapted to engage one end of said lidded traypositioned on said carriage and to support the tray lid at said end whenthe opposite end of said lid is elevated and means for engaging andelevating, said opposite end of said lid, whereby said tray lid may belifted free of said tray.

6. A device adapted to handle sterile receptacles in the operation offilling the receptacles under protective conditions comprising anelongated base, a carriage positioned upon and movable along said base,a tray positioned on said carriage, a lid for said tray, a cover memberadapted to cover said tray, said carriage, and said base, and meansmounted on said cover adapted to engage and support said lid clear ofsaid tray.

7. Apparatus for handling sterile containers under protective conditionsduring the lling operation comprising a base, a carriage movable on saidbase, a tray adapted to carry a plurality of sterile containers and toride on said carriage, a lid for said tray, a protective coverpositioned over said base and said carriage, stationary means associatedwith said base for engaging and supporting one end of the tray lid,movable means associated with the cover adapted to engage and lift theopposite end of the tray lid, and means adapted to secure said movablemeans in an elevated position.

8. Apparatus comprising an elongated base, a carriage movablelongitudinally along said base, a tray adapted to be carried by saidcarriage, a lid for said tray, a cover for said base and carriage, alid-retaining hook mounted on the interior of said cover and stationarywith respect to said cover, a lid-lifting hook support associated withsaid cover and a lid-lifting hook carried by said cover and oppositelydisposed to said lid-retaining hook, said lid-lifting hook comprising ashaft extending through an aperture in said cover, a hook memberassociated with one end of said shaft, and an operating knob and a catchmember associated with the opposite end of said shaft.

` JOI-IN H. BREWER.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hardesty Sept. 18, 1906Number

